Italian blue berets to teach Lebanese girls self-defence

Beirut: Italian blue berets serving in southern Lebanon with the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL will give self-defence lessons to schoolgirls from the port city of Tyre, UNIFIL said on Tuesday.

The self-defence lessons will train the girls psychologically and physically and will build their self-confidence, according to UNIFIL instructors.

The course is part of an initiative under which Italian UNIFIL peacekeepers will give weekly Karate lessons to disabled and normal schoolchildren aged 4-12 from several towns in south Lebanon from December to May.

The Karate lessons are aimed at improving the children's balance and overall physical fitness as well as their behaviour, attention span and mental abilities, the UNIFIL instructors say.